Sample AI Usage Policies & Syllabi

WR 152 AI Use Guidelines (Download document)

As a writing instructor, I am concerned that students who use AI to write their essays will be unable to improve the writing skills that the assignments are designed to help them practice. The goal of your WR classes is not merely to produce writing, but to use writing as a vehicle for thinking, reflection, questioning, and exploration. The use of AI writing might produce a satisfactory essay, but such use prevents you from engaging in the difficult intellectual work of thinking through your own ideas and finding the best way to communicate them. In other words, it prevents you from using writing as an opportunity to learn and grow. 

On the other hand, I recognize that AI Large Language Models made accessible to you through TerrierGPT will change the ways we write and research. As they become embedded in web browsers and digital assistants, the act of writing will increasingly happen in collaboration with AI. Given this likely future, it is also important for students to learn how to collaborate with AI ethically, and that we recognize the value of this collaboration rather than merely assume it to be oppositional to the goals of a writing class. 

As such, the following policy attempts to balance the challenges that AI presents for learning and writing with its many affordances and benefits. This class takes as its goal both (a) a critical understanding of artificial intelligence and its implications for academic writing and research; and (b) proficiency in the responsible use and application of AI tools for writing.

We will explore and practice responsible AI use in class and in class assignments. However, please observe the following policies, disclosure requirements, and limitations:

No Disclosure Necessary

In general, AI use is allowed in the following pre-writing and feedback situations throughout the semester, without the need for additional citation or disclosure:

• brainstorming ideas: brainstorming potential arguments and counterarguments, coming up with possible discussion questions for a reading, brainstorming stakeholders to a particular issue, etc.
• brainstorming vocabulary: coming up with keywords and synonyms
• translating short passages: translating words or short phrases (not entire paragraphs or papers – see “disclosure necessary” for that, below)
• understanding readings: translating complex terms, explaining difficult concepts or cultural references (while evaluating these cautiously), offering bullet-point takeaways from a long and dense text, etc.
• seeking feedback on writing: asking for feedback on a specific aspect of your writing such as grammar, asking for suggestions for wording that is more direct, succinct, etc.
• explaining and modeling course concepts: asking AI to explain a concept or to give examples/models of a concept

Disclosure Necessary 

In general, using AI to produce copy/writing for inclusion in your class assignments is allowed with citation/disclosure requirements, as follows: 

• No more than 25%: Your assignments should not include more than 25% of AI-generated text. This limit provides you the opportunity to practice producing writing with AI without letting it do too much of the work–and thus bypassing your learning and reflection. This includes using AI to translate longer sections of your writing (such as an entire paragraph).
• Blue font. Any AI-generated or longer translated text must be highlighted in blue font. Essays that lack this clear visual distinction between AI-generated text and your own writing may suffer grade penalty. This visual distinction allows me to evaluate if you abided by the 25% threshold and allows me to offer feedback on how well you have integrated the AI-generated text.

Accountability Principles

Students take full responsibility for any writing produced by AI or with the help of AI, including whatever factual inaccuracies, biases, offensive content, etc. might be contained in the AI-generated text or support. In short: if you use AI to help you write, but the content or the writing generated by the AI, or the information it provides, is inaccurate, misleading, false, or even just poorly written, your grade will suffer. I encourage students to experiment with using AI in their work, but to remember: ultimately, this is your writing, and you must take responsibility for anything that you submit.

Some students may be concerned that I will regard work produced with the assistance of AI tools as less worthy of a strong grade, or that I will look down on students who choose to use AI in the development of their writing projects, or that I will grade it differently than work produced without any AI whatsoever. I will not do any of these things, provided you abide by the limitations and disclosure requirements noted above. Ultimately it is up to you to decide whether or not collaboration with AI–and the form that collaboration takes–will help you to produce a better final project. This requires a new kind of rhetorical thinking (for instance, how you interweave your own writing with any produced by AI) and good judgment, both skills that benefit from the practice these assignments will afford you. If any student chooses not to use AI, I will fully respect that decision, too.

The Modern Language Association offers these guidelines for the citing of generative AI text in MLA style. However, current MLA guidelines fail to take into account the dialogic nature of AI conversations and, at present, offer imperfect solutions for the citation of AI-generated text, asking writers to parenthetically cite the prompt used in the interaction with generative AI. As a result, we will not be using MLA citation conventions for generative AI in this class, though you should be informed about these conventions, and you should always cite generative AI use in your work for other classes according to standard conventions like those offered by the MLA.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

WR 152: Writing, Research & Inquiry with Digital/Multimedia Expression Beyond Human Hands: The Rise of AI-Infused Creations (View full syllabus)

Course Description

Although we are often encouraged to write what we know, the best research writing is motivated by our interest in the unknown: What do we want to discover, how can we discover it, and what are the most effective ways to communicate our discoveries? These questions will drive our work in WR 152. Building on WR 120 or its equivalent, this class will help you cultivate your writing and research skills through a range of assignments, including a scholarly research essay in which you will be responsible for identifying and refining a topic, devising research questions, and answering those questions by finding and using a range of scholarly and non-scholarly sources. As a course that earns a Hub Unit in Digital/Multimedia Expression, WR 152 will also give you an opportunity to analyze different media and modes, such as podcasts, websites, and artwork, and to compose them yourself as you translate your academic writing into different forms for different audiences. Even as it will draw on the principles of traditional rhetoric, this is a course about the ways twenty-first century writers can communicate both ethically and effectively. No special technological knowledge is required.

The specific topic of this section is Beyond Human Hands: The Rise of AI-Infused Creations.We will be exploring the dynamic interplay between writing, creativity, digital content creation, and the world of artificial intelligence (AI). As generative models influence human-machine collaboration, understanding their implications, challenges, and opportunities becomes crucial for writers, researchers, and digital content creators. We will delve into the historical context, technical foundations, and ethical considerations surrounding Generative AI and writing. We will conduct research on Generative AI, assess AI-generated content, and collaborate on digital projects. Key discussions will revolve around the history, evolution and ethics of Generative AI as well as its implications for the future.

Generative AI Policy

A significant aspect of this course involves the integration of Generative AI (GAI), specifically ChatGPT 4 (subscription-based), into your scholarly research essay and multi-modal project. The rationale behind incorporating ChatGPT is to familiarize you with cutting-edge tools that are reshaping the landscape of writing and research. However, it’s crucial to strike a balance. While GAI can be a powerful ally in research and composition, it is imperative that your unique voice and critical thinking remain at the forefront. 

To ensure this, you are permitted to use ChatGPT or any other GAI tool for up to 50% of your essay content. This integration should not be at the expense of your originality and analytical skills. Any content derived directly from GAI must be clearly indicated in your essay, using blue font to differentiate it from your own writing. This transparency is key to maintaining academic integrity and honoring the collaborative nature of your work with GAI. 

Furthermore, using GAI for grammar and style enhancements is encouraged, as it has the potential to refine your expression without diluting your ideas. These improvements do not count towards the 50% GAI contribution limit, but must still be acknowledged in your submission in a single sentence/line at the end of your reference list. As for citations, given the developing stage of GAI in academic contexts, traditional citation styles like MLA are not required for AI contributions in our class. Instead, the color-coded method described above along with any additional description/reflection of AI-use at the end of your essay, acknowledging GAI assistance suffices for now.

Here are some potential consequences for violating this GAI course policy (for any of our assignments– big or small) that closely align with our Plagiarism rules in this class and across the university:

• First Violation – Warning and Revision Requirement: If a student fails to properly indicate which parts of their essay are AI-generated, they will receive a formal warning. The student will be asked to revise the essay to correctly highlight AI-generated content and resubmit it within a mutually agreed-upon timeframe. This first-time violation may also result in a reduction of credit for that particular assignment. 
• Second Violation – Significant Credit Penalty: A second violation of the guidelines would result in a more severe credit penalty. For example, the student’s essay/assignment credit could be reduced by 50% or more, depending on the severity of the offense.
• Repeated Violations – Failure for the Course: Persistent failure to comply with the guidelines may lead to failing the course. This consequence is in line with serious academic integrity violations, as it reflects a continual disregard for the rules. In such cases, academic disciplinary actions may be taken, similar to Plagiarism actions: In cases where a student extensively uses AI-generated content without acknowledgment, passing it off entirely as their own work, this will be treated as a severe case of plagiarism. Such cases will be referred to the academic disciplinary committee for further action. 

Example Scenario

Student A submits an essay in which 70% of the content is AI-generated, and none of it is highlighted or acknowledged as per the course guidelines. The student receives a warning and is required to revise and resubmit the essay, highlighting the AI-generated sections. Ths student may also receive partial credit for the assignment, depending on the situation. If Student A repeats this mistake, they will definitely either not receive credit or receive 50% credit for their work. Further violations could result in failing the course.

Please keep in mind: Ultimately, I want you to embrace this experimental journey ensuring that your voice leads the way, augmented, but not overshadowed, by the capabilities of Generative AI. Transparency will be our key work this semester! 

This experiment is new for both you and me! We will all have many questions as we move forward, and the goal is to experiment and learn from one another! Please come to me with any questions! 

WR 250 AI Use Guidelines (Download document)

As a writing instructor, I am concerned that students who use AI to write their essays will be unable to improve the writing skills that the assignments are designed to help them practice. The goal of your WR classes is not merely to produce writing, but to use writing as a vehicle for thinking, reflection, questioning, and exploration. The use of AI writing might produce a satisfactory essay, but such use prevents you from engaging in the difficult intellectual work of thinking through your own ideas and finding the best way to communicate them. In other words, it prevents you from using writing as an opportunity to learn and grow. 

On the other hand, I recognize that AI Large Language Models made accessible to you through TerrierGPT will change the ways we write and research. As they become embedded in web browsers and digital assistants, the act of writing will increasingly happen in collaboration with AI. Given this likely future, it is also important for students to learn how to collaborate with AI ethically, and that we recognize the value of this collaboration rather than merely assume it to be oppositional to the goals of a writing class. This reason is one of the motivating rationales for WR 250 AI Literacy for Writing.

As such, the following policy attempts to balance the challenges that AI presents for learning and writing with its many affordances and benefits. This class takes as its goal both (a) a critical understanding of artificial intelligence and its implications for academic writing and research; and (b) proficiency in the responsible use and application of AI tools for writing.

We will explore and practice responsible AI use in class and in class assignments. However, please observe the following policies, disclosure requirements, and limitations:

No Disclosure Necessary

In general, AI use is allowed in the following pre-writing and feedback situations throughout the semester, without the need for additional citation or disclosure:

• brainstorming ideas: brainstorming potential arguments and counterarguments, coming up with possible discussion questions for a reading, brainstorming stakeholders to a particular issue, etc.
• brainstorming vocabulary: coming up with keywords and synonyms
• translating short passages: translating words or short phrases (not entire paragraphs or papers)
• understanding readings: translating complex terms, explaining difficult concepts or cultural references (while evaluating these cautiously), offering bullet-point takeaways from a long and dense text, etc.
• seeking feedback on writing: asking for feedback on a specific aspect of your writing such as relative clauses or verb tenses (not asking AI to rewrite or “fix” your writing), asking for suggestions for wording that is more direct, succinct, etc.
• explaining and modeling course concepts: asking AI to explain a concept or to give examples/models of a concept

Disclosure Necessary 

In general, using AI to produce copy/writing for inclusion in your class assignments is allowed with citation/disclosure requirements, as follows: 

• No more than 25%: Your assignments should not include more than 25% of AI-generated text. This limit affords you the opportunity to practice producing writing with AI without letting it do too much of the work–and thus bypassing your learning and reflection. This includes using AI to translate longer sections of your writing (such as an entire paragraph).
• Blue font. Any AI-generated or longer translated text must be highlighted in blue font. Essays that lack this clear visual distinction between AI-generated text and your own writing may suffer grade penalty. This visual distinction allows me to evaluate if you abided by the 25% threshold and allows me to offer feedback on how well you have integrated the AI-generated text.

AI Use Prohibited

You are not allowed to use AI to produce copy/writing for two assignments in this class–the Collaborative Writing Project (CWP) and the Final Reflection. The CWP is designed to be a publishable Op-Ed, and you will not be able to publish your Op-Ed if you use AI to write it. The 500-word Final Reflection is ungraded, and I want to hear your sincere thoughts about your experience in the class, something best achieved through your own writing rather than outsourcing the writing to AI.

Accountability Principles

Students take full responsibility for any writing produced by AI or with the help of AI, including whatever factual inaccuracies, biases, offensive content, etc. might be contained in the AI-generated text or support. In short: if you use AI to help you write, but the content or the writing generated by the AI, or the information it provides, is inaccurate, misleading, false, or even just poorly written, your grade will suffer. I encourage students to experiment with using AI in their work, but to remember: ultimately, this is your writing, and you must take responsibility for anything that you submit.

Some students may be concerned that I will regard work produced with the assistance of AI tools as less worthy of a strong grade, or that I will look down on students who choose to use AI in the development of their writing projects, or that I will grade it differently than work produced without any AI whatsoever. I will not do any of these things, provided you abide by the limitations and disclosure requirements noted above. Ultimately it is up to you to decide whether or not collaboration with AI–and the form that collaboration takes–will help you to produce a better final project. This requires a new kind of rhetorical thinking (for instance, how you interweave your own writing with any produced by AI) and good judgment, both skills that benefit from the practice these assignments will afford you. If any student chooses not to use AI, I will fully respect that decision, too.

The Modern Language Association offers these guidelines for the citing of generative AI text in MLA style. However, current MLA guidelines fail to take into account the dialogic nature of AI conversations and, at present, offer imperfect solutions for the citation of AI-generated text, asking writers to parenthetically cite the prompt used in the interaction with generative AI. As a result, we will not be using MLA citation conventions for generative AI in this class, though you should be informed about these conventions, and you should always cite generative AI use in your work for other classes according to standard conventions like those offered by the MLA.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Back to the syllabus.

WR 250 AI Literacy for Writing (View full syllabus)

Recent advancements in generative AI are transforming the relationship between technology and writing. As these tools become more integrated with the technologies we depend on, developing new skills will be crucial for writing both ethically and effectively. This course offers students from diverse backgrounds and disciplines a foundational understanding of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) and its impact on communication, research, society, and the workforce. By critically exploring a range of GAI tools, students will gain the ability to navigate a world increasingly shaped by GAI, while engaging with ethical considerations, real-world applications, and academic research. Through projects that combine traditional writing techniques with multimodal forms, students will be equipped to adapt to the evolving demands of writing in the digital age.

In the COM Writing Program, we provide the following language as a guide to help faculty develop their own AI policies for their courses. Most faculty are eager to standardize on a policy and do not modify this (though they are, of course, free to do so):

GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOLS

In all areas of academic inquiry, research, scholarship, and professional practices, the College of Communication places the highest emphasis on integrity and ethics. In alignment with these values, COM only permits student use of text-authoring tools (including, but not limited to, generative AI tools such as Grammarly or ChatGPT) under certain highly restrictive conditions:

• The course leader (e.g., professor or lecturer) must expressly grant permission to the student or students to use the tool.
• Any assignment submitted for academic credit or review must include an explicit and affirmative declaration that the assignment was prepared. reviewed or edited with the use or assistance of the expressly permitted tool and an explanation of how it was used for the assignment.

It is impermissible under any circumstances for a student to submit an assignment that is fully or partially created or reviewed by a third-party tool without instructor permission AND full notification. Failure to do so is considered a form of plagiarism – an academic conduct violation that may lead to grading penalties and/or review by the COM Academic Affairs Committee.

Special Note: Using AI

LLMs and generative AI are turning the world of strategy and strategy consulting on its head, much to the consternation of strategy consultant and business school faculty.  They are extraordinarily powerful tools in the hands of a skilled user—but not omniscient.

I am an advocate for using AI in learning strategy. As a professional who makes his living on designing and developing AI-driven strategies as well as building AI-powered strategy analysis tools and simulations, I have a fairly good idea of where and how to use AI in this course. As a result of using AI in various classes over the last several years, I have some simple guidelines for its use in this course, as well as some clarification of expectations:

1. You may use AI in all forms in your preparation for class discussions. Better prep for class makes for better participation in class. Everyone wins. (And your prep work is not directly graded.)
2. You may use AI for brainstorming, framing, outlining, researching, and drafting your written assignments.  Be sure to always disclose your use of AI tools with proper citations. Given the research and analysis capabilities, as well as improvements in efficiency and productivity in writing with AI tools, written research and analysis assignments have been dramatically expanded in both scope and depth in recent years, while grade allocations, and rubric designs have been adjusted accordingly.  In other words, I expect more from you as a student today given the tools you have at your disposal, as compared to students of the pre-Gen-AI era.
3. A word to the wise, general-purpose Gen-AI tools are exceptionally good at “analysis”, i.e. summarizing, synthesizing, and extracting insights from historical data and cases.   There are not very good at making novel or radically innovative, prescriptive recommendations and SHOULD NOT be used for these types of assignments.
4. Finally, while laptop use is allowed in class, I ask that you refrain from using AI during lectures and plenary discussion. My experience is that it interrupts the flow of the discussion, dramatically deenergizes the discussion, and slows things way down.  (Not a good for any fast-paced discussion-oriented class, especially a Thursday night class.)

USE OF AI (View full syllabus)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a rapidly evolving and powerful tool that will increasingly shape the professional world. To succeed in your future career, you will need to demonstrate what unique value you can contribute beyond what any untrained individual with access to AI could produce. First and foremost, this means genuinely understanding the engineering principles you will be taught in this and your other classes.

The effectiveness of a tool scales with the skill of its user. For you, this means understanding the principles you are asking AI to assist with, critically evaluating the accuracy and relevance of its output, and being able to independently justify its and your solutions. You must be able to think for yourself. Simply using AI to blindly generate solutions without engaging with the material will harm your learning and ultimately leave you at a disadvantage after graduation. However, if you use AI strategically as a learning aid—to explore concepts, clarify doubts, or test your understanding—you will develop an understanding and skill set that sets you apart and is truly valuable in the 21st century. Learn to collaborate with AI rather than depending on it. Focus on building a deep understanding of engineering principles and problem-solving skills that empower you to effectively use AI as a tool rather than relying on it as a crutch.

In this class:

• You are permitted (but not required) to use AI tools for take-home assignments without penalty, provided you use AI as a learning aid to enhance your understanding of the material. You must indicate where on your assignments you have consulted AI as explained above.
• Exams will be pen-and-paper, without access to AI tools, so your understanding and ability to perform independently will determine the majority of your grade.